MONTAGUE — Montague Mayor Henry Roesler Jr.'s death Tuesday sent election officials scrambling to find out what it means for next Tuesday's election.

The answer: Based on state law, it appears that Roesler's sole opponent for mayor, 32-year-old Kevin Erb, will automatically win the election.

Muskegon County and Montague city officials spent Wednesday researching state law and Montague's city charter regarding the unusual election situation sparked by the death of a candidate. At one point Wednesday, city officials thought that, based on the city charter, Roesler could win re-election posthumously and a replacement would be appointed from among city council members.

But state law appears to have trumped that notion.

Kimberly Grimm, the county's elections coordinator, conferred with state election officials. She was told that Michigan law states: “Any votes cast for a deceased candidate are void and shall not be counted.”

John Schrier, the city's attorney, could not be reached for comment.

Kevin Erb

Erb, of 5080 Dowling, was the only other candidate to file for the mayor's race. Erb ran unsuccessfully in 2009 against Roesler for the mayor's post.

The deadline for filing as a write-in candidate was Friday, and no one filed by that time.

Roesler's name will remain on the ballot, but his votes will not be counted. The longtime mayor was seeking an 11th two-year term as the city's mayor.

The Chronicle was unable to reach Erb for comment.

Councilman Calvin “Hap” Cederquist, who serves as mayor pro-tem, ran one of the meetings in October when Roesler was unable to attend. He is expected to lead the council through its agenda at its next meeting Monday.